Argentina will have to play its next four official international matches without Lionel Messi after FIFA gave him a four-match ban on Tuesday for verbally abusing a referee in a World Cup qualifying match last week.
FIFA said Messi directed insults at assistant referee, Emerson Carvalho in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Chile on March 23. Match footage shows that Messi reacted and shouted the insults when Carvalho called him for a foul in which he didn’t agree with.
The head referee of the match Sandro Ricci did not report the event initially. Therefore, FIFA intervened and delivered the suspension due to similar cases with other players.
“This decision is in line with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's previous rulings in similar cases,” FIFA said in a statement on its website.
Argentina said it will appeal the forward’s ban.
The Barcelona man will now miss four out of the remaining five World Cup qualifiers for Argentina, in addition to receiving a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs.
The Messi-less squad struggled without the prolific player losing to Bolivia 2-0 in Tuesday night's qualifier match.
Argentina was also missing players who were suspended with yellow card accumulations, including Gonzalo Higuain and Javier Mascherano. Premier League striker Sergio Aguero did not play in the match.
The four-match ban could prove costly for Messi and Argentina in the end.
The South Americans currently sit in fifth place in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying with 22 points. Even though the top four nations automatically qualify, the Albiceleste are only two points out of second place Colombia.
The nation’s road to the 2018 World Cup may not be what fans envisioned, especially without its star man.